Congressman King serves as the Republican Ranking Member on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security & International Law. Also, Congressman King serves on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law and Constitution, Civil Rights & Civil Liberties.<ref name="subcomm" />

Congressman King serves as the Republican Ranking Member on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security & International Law. Also, Congressman King serves on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law and Constitution, Civil Rights & Civil Liberties.<ref name="subcomm" />

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===Charleston meeting===

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===Presidential rumblings===

−

King will attend the closed-door “Charleston Meeting,” a gathering of influential national conservatives and business leaders hosted by conservative activist Mallory Factor in August 2013.<ref name="sc">[http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/08/06/steve-king-for-president-hes-going-to-south-carolina/ ''Washington Post'' "Steve King for president? He’s going to South Carolina" Accessed August 7, 2013]</ref> He will also hold an invitation-only meeting with [[South Carolina]] GOP activists in Charleston County.<ref name="sc"/><ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/06/steve-king-south-carolina_n_3714875.html?utm_hp_ref=politics ''Huffington Post'' " Steve King To Visit South Carolina, Meet With GOP Activists: Report" Accessed August 7, 2013]</ref><ref>[http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/08/06/first-on-cnn-iowas-steve-king-heading-to-south-carolina/ ''CNN.com'' "First on CNN: Iowa's Steve King heading to South Carolina" Accessed August 7, 2013]</ref>

+

====Charleston meeting=====

+

King attended the closed-door “Charleston Meeting,” a gathering of influential national conservatives and business leaders hosted by conservative activist Mallory Factor in August 2013.<ref name="sc">[http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/08/06/steve-king-for-president-hes-going-to-south-carolina/ ''Washington Post'' "Steve King for president? He’s going to South Carolina" Accessed August 7, 2013]</ref> He also held an invitation-only meeting with [[South Carolina]] GOP activists in Charleston County.<ref name="sc"/><ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/06/steve-king-south-carolina_n_3714875.html?utm_hp_ref=politics ''Huffington Post'' " Steve King To Visit South Carolina, Meet With GOP Activists: Report" Accessed August 7, 2013]</ref><ref>[http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/08/06/first-on-cnn-iowas-steve-king-heading-to-south-carolina/ ''CNN.com'' "First on CNN: Iowa's Steve King heading to South Carolina" Accessed August 7, 2013]</ref>

The Charleston Meeting and its sibling, the New York Meeting, are semi-regular events hosted by Factor that bring together influential conservative figures from around the country - not necessarily the local activists who will be key players in the [[South Carolina|state's]] primary, the first southern contest in the 2016 presidential nomination fight.<ref name="KCRG">[http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Is-Iowa-Rep-Steve-King-Preparing-for-White-House-Bid-218580781.html ''KCRG'' "Is Iowa Rep. Steve King Preparing for White House Bid?" Accessed August 7, 2013]</ref>

The Charleston Meeting and its sibling, the New York Meeting, are semi-regular events hosted by Factor that bring together influential conservative figures from around the country - not necessarily the local activists who will be key players in the [[South Carolina|state's]] primary, the first southern contest in the 2016 presidential nomination fight.<ref name="KCRG">[http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Is-Iowa-Rep-Steve-King-Preparing-for-White-House-Bid-218580781.html ''KCRG'' "Is Iowa Rep. Steve King Preparing for White House Bid?" Accessed August 7, 2013]</ref>

King’s office has not yet commented on whether he is looking at a run for president, but such trips are generally only embarked on by politicians angling for a national profile and/or a potential presidential run.<ref name="sc"/>

King’s office has not yet commented on whether he is looking at a run for president, but such trips are generally only embarked on by politicians angling for a national profile and/or a potential presidential run.<ref name="sc"/>

+

+

====Trip to New Hampshire====

+

King has been "tentatively confirmed" for a conservative conference in October 2013. New Hampshire will be one of the early primary states for the 2016 presidential bid.<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/08/27/steve-king-headed-to-new-hampshire/?wprss=rss_politics&clsrd ''The Washington Post'', "Steve King headed to New Hampshire," August 27, 2013]</ref>

Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings, King is an average Republican member of Congress, meaning he will vote with the Republican Party on the majority of bills.

Biography

King was born in 1949 in Storm Lake, IA, and raised in Denison, IA, where he also attended high school. Although he attended Northwest Missouri State University from 1967-1970, he does not have a college degree. Prior to his political career, King worked as a businessman.[5]

Career

Iowa State Senate, 1996-2002

U.S. House of Representatives, 5th Congressional District of Iowa, 2003-Present

Issues

House Judiciary Committee

Congressman King was first appointed to the House Judiciary Committee in 2003 shortly after he was sworn into the Congress.[8] King still serves on the committee to this date.[9]

Congressman King serves as the Republican Ranking Member on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security & International Law. Also, Congressman King serves on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law and Constitution, Civil Rights & Civil Liberties.[9]

Presidential rumblings

Charleston meeting=

King attended the closed-door “Charleston Meeting,” a gathering of influential national conservatives and business leaders hosted by conservative activist Mallory Factor in August 2013.[10] He also held an invitation-only meeting with South Carolina GOP activists in Charleston County.[10][11][12]

The Charleston Meeting and its sibling, the New York Meeting, are semi-regular events hosted by Factor that bring together influential conservative figures from around the country - not necessarily the local activists who will be key players in the state's primary, the first southern contest in the 2016 presidential nomination fight.[13]

King’s office has not yet commented on whether he is looking at a run for president, but such trips are generally only embarked on by politicians angling for a national profile and/or a potential presidential run.[10]

Trip to New Hampshire

King has been "tentatively confirmed" for a conservative conference in October 2013. New Hampshire will be one of the early primary states for the 2016 presidential bid.[14]

Controversy

Global warming a "religion"

In comments made on August 6, 2013, King dismissed the concern over global warming, labeling it a "religion" and claiming efforts to address climate change are useless.[15][16]

"It is not proven, it's not science," King said. "It's more of a religion than a science."[17][18]

The congressman spoke at a Fort Dodge event sponsored by the conservative advocacy group Americans for Prosperity.[15][17] King said he thought environmentalists should focus on the positive aspects of the earth heating up due to more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, instead of harping on the negatives.[19][15] King also argued that the push to combat climate change will harm the economy more than it will help the environment.[16]

"Everything that might result from a warmer planet is always bad in [environmentalists'] analysis," King said. "There will be more photosynthesis going on if the earth gets warmer. And if sea levels go up four or six inches, I don't know if we'd know that."

King suggested that rising sea levels are not a good measurement of the consequences of global warming. "We don't know where sea level is even, let alone be able to say that it's going to come up an inch globally because some polar ice caps might melt because there's CO2 suspended in the atmosphere," King said.[17][15]

Remarks on young undocumented workers

Steve King's July 2013 interview with Newsmax

King said in an interview with Newsmax in July 2013 that a wide swath of immigrants who were brought into the United States illegally as children were smuggling drugs into the country.[20] “Some of them are valedictorians, and their parents brought them in. It wasn’t their fault. It’s true in some cases, but they aren’t all valedictorians. They weren’t all brought in by their parents...For everyone who’s a valedictorian, there’s another 100 out there that weigh 130 pounds and they’ve got calves the size of cantaloupes because they’re hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert,” said in the interview and added, “Those people would be legalized with the same act.”[20][21]

SpeakerJohn Boehner said in a statement on July 23, 2013 that comments from King likening young undocumented immigrants, known as DREAMers, to drug mules was “wrong.”[20] On July 25, 2013 Boehner called King's comments “deeply offensive and wrong” and added, “What he said does not reflect the values of the American people or the Republican Party.”[22]House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, the second-ranking HouseRepublican, said of King’s remarks: ”I strongly disagree with his characterization of the children of immigrants and find the comments inexcusable.”[20]

King defended his remarks saying, “It’s not something that I’m making up. This is real. We have people that are mules, that are drug mules, that are hauling drugs across the border and you can tell by their physical characteristics what they’ve been doing for months, going through the desert with 75 pounds of drugs on their back and if those who advocate for the DREAM Act, if they choose to characterize this about valedictorians, I gave them a different image that we need to be thinking about because we just simply can’t be passing legislation looking only at one component of what would be millions of people.” [23]

Steve King speaks about immigration at rally

King — who called immigrant children drug mules — is seizing a critical moment in the immigration debate and taking his views on the road to rallies, including one in August 2013 in the backyard of Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who is helping to shape immigration policy in the House.[24]

King hopes to pressure fellow Republicans into staring down any move to give undocumented immigrants legal status.[24] He began his nearly half-hour speech by arguing against immigration reform, claiming societies tend to become more violent as one moves farther south in Latin America.[24]

“Now think what that is,” King said at the August 2013 rally. “If you bring people from a violent civilization into a less-violent civilization, you’re going to have more violence right? It’s like pouring hot water into cold water, does it raise the temperature or not?”[24]

Republican leaders — eager not to further alienate Hispanic voters — argue they’ve done all they can to shut up King. “What he said does not reflect the values of the American people or the Republican Party,” said House SpeakerJohn Boehner after one of King’s statements.[24]

King said in an interview that he was not directing a specific message toward his leadership, despite entering Cantor’s home turf. He just believes that he is a man standing on principle while many of his fellow Republicans “have had a spell cast over them” following the 2012 elections.[24]

“A year ago, almost everybody in my conference agreed with me,” King said. “There’s been no spell cast over me.”[24]

Specific votes

Fiscal Cliff

King voted against the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was one of 151 Republicans that voted against the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257/167 vote on January 1, 2013.[25]

Policy positions

Immigration

Secured and controlled borders - "I believe we must tighten and strengthen our border control efforts. I have traveled to the southern border and have seen the unprotected areas that allow the free flow of illegal immigrants into our country. Allowing illegal immigration to flourish is a threat to our national security."

Concrete border wall - "I have seen the fences being built on the border by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. I have watched illegal immigrants scale these fences and easily move between the United States and Mexico. To address this, I have designed a concrete border wall proposal. I have 35 years of experience in the earth-moving, drainage and concrete construction business, which gives me the background to design an effective wall. My concrete wall would function as both a human and vehicle barrier, inspired by the success of the concrete wall in Israel. My design is cost efficient, easy to construct and impenetrable. This design would funnel illegal traffic to our ports of entry, where it can be reasonably controlled by our nation's customs and border patrol agents."

An immigration policy designed to enhance the economic, social and cultural well-being of the United States.

Amnesty - "I believe we only encourage illegal immigration by discussing amnesty for the 12-20 million illegal immigrants living in the United States today. I adamantly oppose amnesty, regardless of the guise under which it is presented. Amnesty pardons immigration lawbreakers and rewards them with the objective of their crime—citizenship."

"Job magnets" - "In addition to a physical deterrent, I believe we must shut off the job magnets that encourage illegal immigrants to come to the United States. I have authored New IDEA, the Illegal Deduction Elimination Act, which would protect American jobs for American workers. New IDEA would make wages and benefits paid to illegal immigrants nondeductible for federal tax purposes. This would eliminate the incentive of hiring illegal workers to employ cheap labor. New IDEA would also make E-Verify permanent and provide "safe harbor" for employers who use this employment eligibility system. My legislation would also create an information sharing system between the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration. By using an automated system to verify employment authorization, and by sharing this information amongst three federal agencies, false identification documents and illegal workers will be identified more easily."

Incentives for illegal immigrants - "In addition to border security and workplace enforcement, our nation must eliminate needless incentives that encourage illegal immigration and cost taxpayers significant amounts of money each year. I do not believe it is in the best interest of our nation to continue tolerating the practice of illegal aliens giving birth to children in the U.S. in order to obtain citizenship for the child, then moving back to their country of origin with the hopes of achieving uninhibited access to our country for as many family members as possible."

King conducted after an interview with the Des Moines Register on May 1, 2013, in which he stated that he was “embarrassed” he didn’t have an answer yet about his plans to run for U.S. Senate.[35] He also commented that he never expected to still be undecided in May, saying “Things are stacking up on me so fast, I hardly have time to deal with the issue...There’s a lot of support to do this, and I just don’t know the answer. And I’m embarrassed that I don’t know the answer....I’ve just been pinned down doing my job, believe it or not. It just keeps me busy representing people in Congress," citing events pending in Congress, especially the farm bill and the immigration issue, as the primary issues receiving his attention.[35]

King announced on May 6, 2013 that he would not be running for the Senate seat.[36][37]

King is set to run for re-election to the U.S. House in 2014. If he runs, he will seek the Republican nomination in the primary election.The general election took place November 4, 2014.

Branstad also made it clear that he expects the two candidates to decide who will be running for the seat without a primary battle. “We’re not going to have a primary, and I’m going to support both of my congressmen. I just think that Latham would be the strongest candidate for the Senate at this time, and I feel confident that he would be a great vote-getter in our state.”[38]

Despite his preference for the strongest Republican nominee, Branstad has praised both candidates. He even suggested that he might support King if Sen.Chuck Grassley (R) retires in 2016 and he makes a run for his seat.[38]

Branstad summed up the situation, stating “I’ve encouraged them to talk to each other, make the decision, but I would hope that and someday I’d love to see them both in the U.S. Senate, but I think Tom Latham would be the most experienced and the strongest candidate at this time.”[38]

2012

King ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing Iowa's4th District. King won the nomination on the Republican ticket.[39] King ran unopposed in the Republican primary. Candidate Christie Vilsack ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. The two faced off in the general election on November 6, 2012, and King won the contest. Candidates wishing to run were required to file by the signature filing deadline of March 16, 2012. The primary elections took place on June 5, 2012.[40]

Race Background

Incumbent Steve King, who defeated 2010 opponent Matthew Campbell by over 65,200 votes, faces a considerably more difficult race in 2012. As the New York Times reports, this occurs at the same time support for tea party candidates nationwide has dwindled. In a the election's first debate, Democratic challenger Christie Vilsack asked pointed questions regarding a Farm Bill that the U.S. House failed to pass.[41]

However, Christie Vilsack faces an uphill battle in a socially conservative district. Like other Democratic candidates running in socially conservative areas, notably Jim Graves who is challenging tea-party favorite Michele Bachmann in Minnesota's 6th Congressional District, Vilsack is steering away from hot button, national issues like abortion. Instead, she is focusing on local initiatives and ways the government might assist farmers.[42]

Polls

Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Media

Steve King's first TV ad of the election was launched on August 27, 2012.

Full history

To view the full congressional electoral history for Steve King, click [show] to expand the section.

2010

On November 2, 2010, Steve King won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Matthew Campbell (D) and Martin James Monroe (I) in the general election.[44]

U.S. House, Iowa District 5 General Election, 2010

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Republican

Steve Kingincumbent

65.7%

128,363

Democratic

Matthew Campbell

32.4%

63,160

Independent

Martin James Monroe

1.9%

3,622

Independent

Write-In

0%

94

Total Votes

195,239

2008

On November 4, 2008, Steve King won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Rob Hubler (D) and Victor Vara (I) in the general election.[45]

U.S. House, Iowa District 5 General Election, 2008

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Republican

Steve Kingincumbent

59.8%

159,430

Democratic

Rob Hubler

37.4%

99,601

Independent

Victor Vara

2.8%

7,406

Total Votes

266,437

2006

On November 7, 2006, Steve King won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Joyce Shulte (D), Roy Nielsen (Nominated by Petition) and Cheryl L. Brodersen (Nominated by Petition) in the general election.[46]

U.S. House, Iowa District 5 General Election, 2006

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Republican

Steve Kingincumbent

58.5%

105,580

Democratic

Joyce Shulte

35.6%

64,181

Independent

Roy Nielsen

4.5%

8,159

Independent

Cheryl L. Brodersen

1.4%

2,479

Total Votes

180,399

2004

On November 2, 2004, Steve King won re-election to the United States House. He defeated E. Joyce Shulte (D) in the general election.[47]

U.S. House, Iowa District 5 General Election, 2004

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Republican

Steve Kingincumbent

63.3%

168,583

Democratic

E. Joyce Shulte

36.6%

97,597

N/A

Write-in

0.1%

161

Total Votes

266,341

2002

On November 5, 2002, Steve King won election to the United States House. He defeated Paul Shomshor (D) in the general election.[48]

U.S. House, Iowa District 5 General Election, 2002

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Republican

Steve King

62.1%

113,257

Democratic

Paul Shomshor

37.8%

68,853

N/A

Write-in

0.1%

127

Total Votes

182,237

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for King is available dating back to 2002. Based on available campaign finance records, King raised a total of $7,594,293 during that time period. This information was last updated on April 7, 2013.[49]

2012

Breakdown of the source of King's campaign funds before the 2012 election.

King won re-election to the U.S. House in 2012. During that election cycle, King's campaign committee raised a total of $3,753,859 and spent $3,815,764.[53] This is more than the average $1.5 million spent by House winners in 2012.[54]

Lifetime voting record

According to the website GovTrack, King missed 161 of 7,661 roll call votes from Jan 2003 to Mar 2013. This amounts to 2.1%, which is worse than the median of 2.2% among current congressional representatives as of March 2013.[58]

Congressional staff salaries

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. King paid his congressional staff a total of $967,473 in 2011. He ranked 72nd on the list of the highest paid Republican representative staff salaries and ranked 227th overall of the lowest paid representative staff salaries in 2011. Overall, Iowa ranked 16th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[59]

Staff bonuses

According to an analysis by CNN, King was one of nearly 25 percent of House members who gave their staff bonuses in 2012. King's staff was given an apparent $3,721.49 in bonus money.[60]

Net worth

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, King's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $156,016 and 566,000. That averages to $361,008, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican representatives in 2011 of $7,859,232. His average net worth increased by 50.42% from 2010.[61]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, King's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $130,003 and $350,000. That averages to $240,001.50, which was lower than the average net worth of Republican representatives in 2010 of $7,561,133.[62]